1 


"J^^at--, 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

Prof.  Robert  V.  Merrill 


PRESENTED  BY 

Mrs.   Robert  V.  Merrill 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/copahostessofinnOOdana 


Copa 

The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 


r  u,  b  1  iw^  ^     V  e-/^,  1  i »  ^^     1 V tec  /-  <o 

Copa :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

A  Neglected  Classic 


Its  Reputed  Authors,  Cynthia  and 

Propertius,  and  the  Story 

of  Keppler's  Search 


Edited  by 

Charles  L.  Dana  and  John  Cotton  Dana 


The  Elm  Tree  Press  Woodstock  Vermont 
1909 


Copyright,  The  Elm  Tree  Press 
No.    2^  0   \ 


TA 

^^rr 

C-/ 

i-^o^ 

CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction      .... 

9 

Copa            ..... 

11 

Argument         .... 

19 

The  Song  of  Surisca 

21 

Copa    Keppler's  Text 

25 

Cynthia        ..... 

27 

To  Cynthia       .... 

30 

Propertius   ..... 

33 

Elegy  IV  6    On  the  Death  of  Paetus 

40 

72735.4 


INTRODUCTION 


The  following  account  of  Dr.  Keppler's  deep  and 
long-continued  interest  in  the  neglected  classic, 
"Copa",  and  of  his  researches  into  the  merits  and 
authorship  of  that  poem,  would  make,  by  itself,  an 
interesting  story. 

To  this  story  we  have  added  the  poem,  in  the 
original  and  in  translation ;  a  study  of  Propertius 
who  had  something  to  do  with  the  poem;  and  some 
notes  concerning  Cynthia,  the  "  golden  girl ",  who  is 
named  as  its  author  by  Dr.  Keppler. 

Propertius  was  a  poet  of  distinction,  a  forerunner 
of  the  type  of  D'Annunzio ;  he  was  one  of  the  circle 
of  Macaenas,  and  a  master  of  elegiac  verse. 

His  friend  Cynthia,  perhaps  the  illustris  puella  of 
the  learned  critic  Broekhuizen,  was  a  person  to 
whom,  in  the  words  of  Martial,  "  Propertius  gave 
fame  and  received  no  less  from  her".  She  had 
remarkable  talents,  even  if  she  were  not,  as  Keppler 
thought,  the  lost  Sappho  of  an  Augustan  inn. 


Fovetur  itaque  magno  suo  merito  poetica  civitate 
illustris  puella  cujus  nomen  inter  Romanae  lyrae 
cultrices  adhuc  desiderari  piaculum  fuerit. 

J.  Broukhusius 

Therefore  by  her  own  merit  there  flourishes  in  the  poetic  com- 
monwealth a  noble  woman  whose  name  it  would  be  a  wrong  to 
have  lacking  among  the  cultivators  of  the  Roman  lyre. 


Copa:  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

I 

There  lived  and  flourished  in  Venice  during  the 
past  thirty  years  a  well  known  German  practitioner, 
Dr.  Fritz  Keppler.  He  was  a  skillful  surgeon,  a 
well-informed  and  resourceful  physician,  and  he 
kept  up  his  active  work  and  extensive  practice  till 
the  last  year  of  his  life.  He  was  then  attacked  by 
a  malignant  disease  which  caused  his  death  in  the 
Spring  of  1908,  at  the  age  of  sixty-six. 

Keppler  in  his  early  life  was  interested  in  literary, 
political  and  economic  subjects.  He  was  associated 
for  a  time  with  La  Salle ;  he  wrote  political  articles, 
fought  many  duels,  and  composed  and  published  a 
small  book  of  verses. 

But  he  laid  aside  politics  and  economics  when  he 
came  to  Venice  and  entered  enthusiastically  into  the 
work  of  his  profession.  He  acquired  a  large  prac- 
tice and  established  a  clinic;  he  also  incidentally 
collected  a  large  and  valuable  libraiy  of  medical  and 
general  literature.  One  of  his  particular  diversions, 
outside  of  his  practical  work  however,  was  the 
Latin  classics,  in  which  his  library  was  very  rich. 


12  CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 


*v^' 


-ic^    "^  Among  pieces  attributed  to  some  poet  of  the 

Augustan  period  is  a  short  poem  called  "Copa", 
which  means  "  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn". 

This  early  attracted  Keppler's  interest,  for  he 
thought  it  one  of  the  most  beautiful  poems  of  the 
classic  period. 

The  author  of  the  poem  had  never  been  definitely 
known,  and  for  many  years  Dr.  Keppler  says  that  he 
read  his  Latin  daily,  trying  to  find  some  verse  which 
had  the  characteristics  of  the  little  piece,  which  he 
called  his  "foundling".  His  labor  was  rewarded, 
at  least  in  a  degree  and  to  his  own  satisfaction,  for 
he  finally  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  mysterious 
author  was  a  certain  lady  named  "Hostia",  to  whom 
^^■^^"^  the  poet  Propertius  addressed  his  Elegies  and  to 

whom  that  author  says  "Apollo  had  given  all  the 
gifts  of  song". 

Cum  tibi  praesertim  Phoebus  sua  carmina  donet. 

ELI  2 

Hostia  was  a  well-known  character  in  Rome.  She 
was  probably  the  grand-daughter  of  a  Latin  poet 
named  Hostius.  She  had  beauty,  wit  and  talent  for 
music,  poetry  and  dancing.  Propertius  addresses 
his  elegies  to  her  under  the  name  of  Cynthia, 
elegies  which  indicate  that  he  was  of  the  type  of 
Alfred  de  Musset  and  that  Hostia,  the  gifted  inspirer 
of  his  work,  while  not  perhaps  his  Roman  George 


CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn  13 

Sand  was  at  least  able  to  write  songs  "equal  to 
those  of  Corinna  and  of  Erinna". 

Et  quantum  ^olio  cum  temptat  carmina  plectro, 
Par  Aganippese  ludere  docta  lyrs, 
Et  sua  cum  antiquas  committit  scripta  Corinna^ 
Carminaque  Erinnes  non  putat  aequa  suis. 

El.  II  3, 19 

As  to  the  literary  value  of  the  poem  and  the  date 
of  its  appearance  there  seem  to  be  substantial 
agreement.  It  is  well  known  to  Latin  students,  for 
it  used  to  be  attributed  to  Virgil  and  is  included  in 
his  collected  works  in  the  older  editions. 

In  Dunlop's  History  of  Roman  Literature,  1828,  it 
is  translated  in  part.  Dunlop  says  that  "it  is  a 
good-humored  drinking  song  by  the  majestic  author 
of  the  Georgics  and  Aeneid."  He  adds,  "A  few  of 
the  lines,  although  some  barbarisms  occur,  are 
written  with  considerable  spirit." 

Dunlop's  translation  is  so  bad  that  it  brings  tears 
to  the  eyes,  and  I  can  but  think  his  critical  estimate 
of  Copa  of  little  value.  German  critics  are  more 
kindly.  Hertzberg  says,  "This  much  is  certain,  the 
author  of  Copa  belonged  to  the  best  period  of 
Roman  poetry;  yet  further,  he  must  have  held  a 
prominent  place  among  the  poets  of  his  time;  this 
poem  could  not  have  been  his  only  work." 

Teuffel  and  Schwabe*  say  that  Copa  is  an  "Elegy 

*  History  of  Roman  Literature. 


14  CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

of  the  best  time"  written  in  the  manner  of  Virgil, 
but  unhke  him  in  its  sprightly  tone. 

Broekhuizen  thinks  that  the  author  of  the  poem 
ought  to  occupy  a  high  place  among  the  cultivators 
,  /  of  the  Roman  lyre.    Crutwell  says  that  the  poem 

would  be  perfect  if  the  first  quatrain  were  omitted; 
and  he  adds,  "if  it  is  not  Virgil's  we  have  lost  in 
its  author  a  genre  poet  of  the  highest  power." 

It  may  be  seen  that  Keppler's  appreciation  of  the 
poem  does  not  lack  support. 

As  to  the  authorship:  the  opinion  at  one  time  held 
that  it  was  an  early  poem  of  Virgil's  seems  to  have 
been  generally  abandoned. 

A  learned  German  critic,  Herzberg,  thought  it 
might  be  by  Propertius,  or  by  some  one  who  knew 
his  Propertius  well;  for  there  are  phrases  and  even 
a  whole  line  in  Copa  which  are  found  in  the  Elegies 
of  that  author.  The  Latin  scholar,  Broekhuizen, 
thought  it  was  written  by  a  Roman  lady  of  the  time 
of  Augustus  who  was  illustrious  in  poetic  art. 

Copa  has  also  been  attributed  to  the  poet  Florus 
of  the  time  of  Hadrian  ( Zell ),  to  a  Septimus  Severus 
of  the  time  of  Flavian  (Wemsdorf ),  and  to  Caius 
Valgius  Rufus  (Ilgen),  a  friend  of  Horace. 

On  the  whole,  Keppler  says,  the  only  well  known 
authors  who  have  really  much  claim  on  Copa  are 
Virgil  and  Propertius;  then  he  proceeds  to  show  why 
it  could  be  neither  of  these.  The  argument  is  long 


CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn  15 

and  technical  and  would  not  especially  interest  the 
reader.  It  is  not  difficult  to  disprove  what  is  not  at 
all  well  established  and  so  we  are  convinced  that 
Dr.  Keppler  makes  out  a  case. 

Keppler's  argument  that  Hostia  was  the  author 
is,  briefly,  this :  the  poem  was  published  about  the 
time  of  Propertius,  it  was  written  probably  by  a 
woman  ( Broekhuizen)  and  by  one  who  knew  that 
author  well  and  incorporated  in  it  some  of  his 
phrases  and  expressions.  But  these  forms  of  ex- 
pression were  not  in  the  true  manner  of  that  author, 
who  was  learned,  formal  and  complex,  while  Copa 
is  simple,  unconventional  and  natural.  Hence  it 
seems  more  likely  that  Propertius  got  his  unusual 
turns  of  expression  from  Copa  than  the  reverse. 
Now  Propertius  lived  in  intimate  relations  with 
Hostia  for  five  years.  She  was  a  poet  of  distinction 
and  a  woman  of  unusual  talents ;  and  she  led  the 
kind  of  life  which  would  make  the  sentiments  of 
Copa  fit  well  to  her  poetic  invention.  Hence  the 
probability  that  Hostia  was  the  authoress. 

This  exposition  makes  a  monograph  of  sixty-five  •*  .-^>- 
pages  and  we  are  giving  only  an  outline  of  his 
reasoning.  It  gives  the  impression  of  being  an 
interesting  guess.  The  most  striking  point  is  that 
Propertius  has  used  here  and  there  in  his  Elegies 
the  style  of  Copa,  which  is  not  like  his  usual  style 
and  which  may  easily  have  crept  in  from  association 


16  CoPA :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

with  a  natural  poet,  not  one  of  the  Schools  or  of 
the  Sodaliceum,  the  Poet's  Club  of  that  period. 

The  view  that  Copa  was  written  by  some  illus- 
trious woman  had  been  suggested  by  Broekhuizen 
two  centuries  ago  and  Keppler,  thinking  that  he 
had  realized  Broekhuizen's  theory,  dedicated  his 
book  to  this  critic's  memory  and  introduced  his 
argument  with  the  quotation  which  we  have  placed 
at  the  beginning  of  this  work. 

In  Keppler's  last  months  of  illness  he  gave  his 
time  to  writing  out  the  evidence  we  have  gathered 
here  and  just  before  his  death  finished  his  mono- 
graph, in  which  he  gives  also  his  interpretation  of 
the  poem  as  a  piece  of  literature.  It  does  not  re- 
quire great  gifts  to  recognize  deserved  merit  in 
Copa.  It  is  pleasingly  descriptive,  natural  and 
unpretentious  and  its  climax  is  very  effective.  As 
a  whole  it  is  a  very  interesting,  human  and  convinc- 
ing piece  and  it  differs  so  wholesomely  in  its 
simplicity  from  the  ordinary  lyrics,  elegies  and 
satires  of  the  "  best  Roman  times  "  that  we  wish  the 
authoress  had  left  more  work  to  posterity. 

And  it  is  not  only  the  merit  of  the  poem  and  the 
question  of  authorship,  but  also  the  intense  interest 
taken  in  it  by  Dr.  Fritz  Keppler  that  appeal  to  one 
and  give  to  the  matter  a  modem  and  human 
interest. 

The  spectacle  of  this  brave  and  learned  gentleman. 


CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn  17 

mortally  ill,  engaging  his  last  days  in  putting  before 
the  public  his  favorite  gem  of  the  Augustan  classics 
and  trying  to  add  a  new  name  to  the  dwellers  on 
Parnassus,  deserves  a  record. 
Whether  Hostia,  or  Cynthia,  is  a  new-found  Sappho 
of  an  Augustan  inn  is  of  less  moment. 


1 
i 

^^^M^^^^l 

Dr.  Fritz  Keppler 

\ 

ARGUMENT 

The  poem  represents  the  opening  and  exploitation 
of  an  inn  and  summer  garden,  perhaps  in  the 
suburbs  of  Rome.  The  "Copa  "  or  hostess,  Surisca, 
appears  before  her  guests  dancing,  and  describes 
the  beauties  and  attractions  of  the  place.  The 
narration,  says  Keppler,  is  like  a  kind  of  business 
announcement  of  a  new  suburban  resort,  such  as 
we  now  see  in  our  daily  papers,  done  in  verse. 

"  But  out  of  this  material, "  Keppler  adds,  "  the 
poetess  by  the  most  simple  and  natural  means  has 
built  up  an  art-work  of  the  first  rank.  In  beautiful 
flowing  verses  the  poetess  enumerates,  one  after  the 
other,  the  various  delights  the  place  affords. " 

"  From  verse  to  verse  she  increases  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  guests,  and  warms  their  fancy,  and  then 
concludes  quickly  and  dramatically  with  the  boldest 
imagery  which  any  poet  of  the  classic  period  has 
ventured  to  present. " 

The  Copa,  written  in  elegiac*  verse,  is  usually 

*The  elegiac  verse  is  made  up  of  one  line  of  hexameter,  or  six 
feet ;  and  one  of  pentameter,  or  five  feet.  The  verse  therefore 
was  written  in  couplets,  and  it  was  especially  used  in  epigram, 
inscription  and  elegy.  The  two  forms  of  meter,  hexameter  and 
pentameter,  were  those  most  often  employed  and  most  fully 
developed  by  the  makers  of  Latin  poetry. 


20  CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

printed  without  sub-divisions,  but  it  falls  naturally 

into  quatrains  and  we  have  presented  it  in  that  way. 

The  incident  of  the  guardian  of  the  chapel,  with 

/  his  scythe  and  "  huge  hips "  and  tired  ass,  has  a 

local  and   a   mythological  significance   which   is 

^j^  tk:  -•  -         obscure  even  to  the  pundits  of  today. 


-.^  ^^' 


1 
/ 

/ 


The  Song  of  Surisca 
The  Hostess  of  a  Country  Inn 


The  Hostess,  Surisca,  binds  her  head 
with  the  fillet,  and  gracefully  moving 
her  slender  body  to  the  castinets, 
touched  with  the  wine,  goes  thro' 
the  wanton  dance  in  her  famous  Inn, 
striking  her  elbow  on  the 
clattering  pipes. 

"  What  profits  it,  if  one  be  wearied 
with  the  summer's  heat,  to  keep 
away  from  the  ever-thirsty  turf ! 
Here  are  flowery  walks  and  little  huts, 
and  cups  and  roses ;  the  flute  and  zither. 
Here  are  summer-houses  cooled 
by  shady  branches ; 


"And  listen  now  to  the  pipe  of  the 

shepherd  sounding  his  rural  notes 

which  sweetly  clatter  in  the  grove  /  / 

of  Menelaus, 


22  CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

Here  is  new  wine  flowing  from  the 

pitch-stained  cask ;  and  a  brook 

runs  by  with  a  gurgling  noise. 

"  Here  are  wreaths  of  violets  twined  with 

the  crocus,  and  festoons  of  fiery 

yellow  mixed  with  the  rose ; 

And  lilies,  washed  in  virgin 

fountains,  which  the  Nymphs 

have  brought  in  their  wicker  baskets. 

"  Here  are  the  little  cakes,  dried, 

in  the  rushes ; 

And  plums  yellowed  in  the 

autumnal  day. 

Here  are  chestnuts  and  shining 

apples  and  all  the  ornaments 

of  Ceres  and  Venus  and  Bacchus ; 

"  Blood-red  mulberries  and  grapes 
on  the  slender  vines ;  and  the  blue- 
green  cucumber  hangs  from  its  stem. 
Here  is  the  guardian  of  the  chapel, 
armed  with  his  willow  hook, 
not  so  terrible  as  he  seems  with 
his  vast  figure. 

"  Come  hither  little  brother :  See  how 
the  tired  ass  sweats ;  Spare  him ; 
for  he  delights  us. 


CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn  23 

Now  the  locusts  break  forth 
again  and  again  over 
wooded  fields ; 
And  the  lizard  lies  hidden 
in  his  cold  retreat. 

"  Now  if  you  are  thirsty,  rest  and  pour 

out  the  cooling  drink  in  a  glass, 

Or,  if  you  wish,  bring  new  cups 

of  crystal ; 

Come  here  and  rest  your  weary 

limbs  beneath  the  leafy  shade ;  f 

and  bind  your  heavy  head  with 

garlands  of  flowers,  / 

"  snatching  beautiful  kisses  from 

the  mouth  of  the  slender  girl— 

Let  him  perish  who  is  too  proud ! 

What !  will  you  throw  the  perfumed 

wreaths  to  the  ungrateful  ashes  ? 

Do  you  long  to  lie  beneath  that 

stone  with  which  your  flowers  are  crowned  ? 

"  Bring  forth  the  wine  and  dice. 
Let  him  perish  who  cares  for 
the  morrow ! 

Death,  pulling  your  ear,  says ; 
*  Live,  I  come.' " 


>  t 


Copa 

Keppler's  Text 

r^OPA  Surisca,  caput  graeca  redimita  mitella, 
Crispum  sub  crotalo  docta  movere  latus, 
Ebria  famosa  saltat  lasciva  tabema, 
Et  cubitum  raucos  excutiens  calamos : 

"  Quid  juvat  aestivo  defessum  pulvere  abesse 
Quam  potius  bibulo  decubuisse  toro  ? 

Sunt  topia  et  kalybae,  cyathi,  rosa,  tibia,  chordae, 
Et  triclia  umbrosis  frigida  harundinibus. 

En  et,  Maenalio  quae  garrit  dulce  sub  antro, 
Rustica  pastoris  fistula  more  sonat. 

Est  et  vappa,  cado  nuper  defusa  picato, 
Est  strepitans  rauco  murmure  rivus  aquae ; 

Sunt  et  cum  croceo  violae  de  flore  corollae 
Sertaque  purpurea  lutea  mixta  rosa 

Et  quae  virgineo  libata  Achelois  ab  amne 
Lilia  vimineis  attulit  in  calathis. 

Sunt  et  cascoli,  quos  juncea  fiscina  siccat, 

Sunt  autumnali  cerea  pruna  die 
Castaneaeque  nucesque  et  suave  rubentia  mala. 

Est  hie  munda  Ceres,  est  Amor,  est  Bromius ; 


26  CoPA :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

Sunt  et  mora  cruenta,  et  lentis  uva  racemis 
Et  pendet  junco  caeruleus  cucumis. 

Est  tuguri  custos,  armatus  falce  saligna, 
Sed  non  et  vasto  est  inguine  terribilis. 

Huic  calybita  veni.  Lassus  jam  sudat  asellus, 
'  Parce  illi :  nostrum  delicium  est  asinus '. 

Nunc  cantu  crebro  rumpunt  arbusta  cicadae. 
Nunc  vere  in  gelida  sede  lacerta  latet : 

Si  sapis,  aestivam  recubans  nunc  prolue  vitro, 
Seu  vis  crystalli  ferre  novos  calices ; 

Hie  age  pampinea  fessus  requiesce  sub  umbra 
Et  gravidum  rosco  necte  caput  strophio, 

Formosum  tenerae  decerpens  ora  puellae  — 
A  pereat  cui  sunt  prisca  supercilia ! 

Quid  cineri  ingrato  servas  bene  olentia  serta  ? 
An  ne  coronato  vis  lapide  ista  tegi  ? 

Pone  merum  et  talos.    Pereat  qui  crastina  curat : 
Mors  aurem  vellens  'vivite',  ait,  'venio'." 


Cynthia 


We  do  not  know  the  train  of  reasoning  which  led 
the  learned  Broekhuizen  to  attribute  Copa  to  an 
illustris  puella.  Perhaps  because  it  is  a  song  by  a 
woman,  and  is  informal  and  unlearned.  Perhaps 
because  it  sings  of  an  Inn,  and  Broekhuizen  may 
have  doubted  if  any  male  poet  of  the  circle  of  Maece- 
nas would  sing  of  an  Inn.  Perhaps  because  a  man 
of  that  day  would  not  sing  about  flowers  or  know  so 
much  about  them.  Admitting  the  poem  to  be  by  a 
woman,  there  was  in  Augustan  times  only  one  other 
poetess  besides  Cynthia  who  could  have  written  it, 
— a  noble  lady  named  Sulpicia,  who  wrote  certain 
very  charming  love  letters.  But  such  of  her  work 
as  we  have  is  not  in  the  style  of  Copa.  So  we  are 
turned,  as  Keppler  tells  us  we  should  be,  to  Cynthia, 
— and  she  deserves  further  notice. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  her  origin  arid  position 
in  life.  It  is  known  that  she  was  a  person  of  beauty 
and  talent,  but  of  a  somewhat  inconstant  disposition. 


28  CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

She  had  also  a  fiery  temper,  from  which  Propertius 
suffered,  but  which  nevertheless  he  loved.   He  says : 

Dulcis  ad  hestemas  fuerat  mihi  rixa  lucemas, 
etc. 

El.  IV  7 

I  was  delighted  with  our  quarrel  last  evening  and 
with  all  the  reproaches  of  your  frantic  tongue. 

He  adds : 
Nam  sine  amore  gravi  femina  nulla  dolet. 

El.  IV  7 

Unless  she  is  violently  in  love,  no  woman  feels 
offended. 

And  further : 
Hostibus  eveniat  lenta  puella  meis. 

El.  IV  7 

May  my  enemies  meet  with  an  easy-tempered 
mistress. 

Propertius  calls  her  often  docta  puella  and  credits 
her  with  being  the  inspirer  of  his  verse ;  of  giving, 
in  fact,  as  much  as  she  received,  for  she  led  him  to 
use  and  develop  his  talents. 

Cynthia  was  a  blonde,  either  by  nature  or  art.  She 
calls  herself  his  "  golden  girl ". 

Hie  Tiburtina  jacet  aurea  Cynthia. 

E1.V7 

Here  in  the  soil  of  Tiber  lies  the  Golden  Cynthia. 


CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn         29 

She  was  tall,  and  of  graceful  figure,  for  which,  he 
says  "  she  needed  no  medicine  ".  She  had  long  hands, 
and  wonderful  eyes. 

Fulva  coma  est  longaeque  manus  et  maxima  toto 
Corpore,  et  incidit  vel  Jove  digna  soror. 

El.  n2 

Her  hair  is  yellow  and  her  hands  are  long;  she  is 
tall  and  walks  forth  like  a  sister  of  Jove. 


She  was  charming  in  conversation,  able  to  sing, 
dance,  play  the  lyre  and  write  poems  equal  to  those 
of  the  Greek  poetess  Corinna.  She  had  in  fact  all 
the  gifts  of  which  Venus  and  Minerva  approve.  And 
it  was  to  her  credit  that  Propertius  won  her  not  by 
his  wealth,  but  by  the  merit  of  his  songs. 


Hanc  ego  non  auro,  non  Indis  flectere  conchis, 
Sed  potui  blandi  carminis  obsequio. 

El.  18 

Her  not  my  gold  could  bend  nor  Indian  Shells 
But  winning  homage  in  loves  villanelles. 


She  was  fond  of  finery,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  made 
herself  up  when  she  went  out  to  walk.  Propertius 
protests  against  these  habits : 


30  CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 


To  Cynthia 

Why  walk,  my  love,  with  burnished  hair, 
And  flutt'ring  folds  of  silken  vest  ? 

No  tress  from  Syrian  myrrh  is  fair ; 
All  stranger  arts  thou  should'st  detest. 

Spoil  not  with  boughten  gauds  thy  grace, 
Nor  mar  thy  form's  own  loveliness ; 

Of  pinching  drugs  be  there  no  trace, 
The  uncloth'd  Cupid  to  distress. 

Earth's  gorgeous  hues  in  freedom  bloom ; 

The  ivy's  guide,  its  errant  will; 
The  arbutus,  far  from  fashion's  doom, 

'Mong  wild  rocks  springs  more  fairly  still. 

The  flower'd  brooks  from  pathways  turn. 
The  unstain'd  pebbles  deck  the  strand : 

From  naught  but  Nature  do  they  learn. 
As  songbirds  fly  the  trainer's  hand. 

In  simple  ways  did  Phoebe  lead 
The  am'rous  Castor  to  her  feet ; 

Hilaria's  charms  made  Pollux  plead 
His  love  with  burning  zeal,  yet  sweet. 

Her  virgin  looks— no  paint,  no  gem- 
Apollo  drew  in  fiercest  chase. 

In  hope  Marpesa's  flight  to  stem, 
And  thrust  himself  in  Idas'  place. 


CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn         31 

The  Pisan's  milk  white  skin  enflam'd 

Apelles'  hopeless  brush  to  limn, 
And  fired  the  Phrygian,  unasham'd, 

To  force  her  will  and  mate  with  him. 

All  these  unaided  won  their  swains ; 

Their  modest  beauty  made  men  slaves. 
Shall  Cynthia  be  less  worth  the  pains 

Of  winning  all  a  lover  craves  ? 

The  conquest  of  one  longing  heart 

Adorns  a  maid  with  royal  mien ; 
So  coyness  be  your  better  part, 

As  best  becomes  love's  dainty  queen ; 

With  Phoebus'  added  gift  of  song, 
Deft  fingers  ling' ring  on  the  lyre, 

The  merry  wit  that  plays  among 
The  words  that  mask  your  fond  desire. 

Endowe'd  thus,  in  splendor  dight, 
Nor  Venus'  form,  Minerva's  mind. 

Can  ampler  make  the  sheer  delight 
That  flows  from  thee,  forever  kind. 

So  Cynthia,  dear,  contented  stay 
With  thine  own  grace  to  hold  my  praise ; 

Let  flippant  girls  do  what  they  may. 
Ruthless  to  blot  their  fairest  days : 
No  artifice  our  love  betrays. 

T.  F.  C.      El.  I  2 

Cynthia  was  jealous  and  inconstant,  and  flirted  with 
a  rich  praetor  while  making  love  to  the  poor,— and 
also  inconstant— Propertius.    She  died  rather  early, 


32  CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

and  Propertius,  who  laments  her  in  an  Elegy,  did  not 
survive  her  many  years  or  write  very  good  verse 
after  her  decease. 

Cynthia  was  not  the  hostess  of  an  inn,  but  a  woman 
of  good  family.  Yet  she  knew  of  such  suburban 
resorts  as  are  described  in  Copa  and  she  could,  if  she 
wished,  dance  and  play  and  sing  "striking  her  elbow 
on  the  clattering  pipes  ". 

She  could  also  inspire  a  love  that  was  intense  and 
true.  Were  this  not  so,  how  could  her  lover  have 
written  the  following  lines,  which  a  critic,  Postgate, 
has  called  especially  sublime. 

Ut  caput  in  magnis  ubi  non  est  tangere  signis 
Ponitur  hie  imos  ante  corona  pedes, 

Sic  nos  nunc,  inopes  laudis  condescendere 
culmen, 

Pauperibus  sacris  vilia  tura  damus. 

Nondum  etenim  Ascraeos  norunt  mea  carmina 
fontes 

El.  mi 

As  when,  of  lofty  statues  men  can  not  touch 

the  head,  they  lay  the  garland  here  low  at 

the  feet ; 
So  I,  all  powerless  to  climb  in  song  thy  glory's 

height,  present  cheap  incense  in  humble 

offering; 
For  not  yet  have  my  strains  reached  the  springs 

of  Helicon. 


Propertius 

Dr.  Keppler,  in  his  Copa  says  that  Propertius  is 
the  only  one  of  the  recognized  classic  authors  of 
Rome  who  could  have  written  that  poem,  had  he 
wished  to  do  so ;  and  he  adds  that,  though  "Proper- 
tius did  not  write  it ",  he  must,  in  a  very  distinct 
way,  have  helped  its  author. 

There  occur  in  Propertius  two  lines  almost  exactly 
like  lines  in  Copa. 

Hie  dulces  cerasos,  hie  autumnalia  pruna 
Cemis  et  aestivo  mora  rubere  die. 

E1.V2 

Here  you  see  sweet  cherries,  and  autumnal  plums 
and  blood-red  mulberries  in  a  summer's  day. 

The  occasion  justifies  us  in  calling  attention  to  the 
merits  of  Propertius,  because  he  rightly  deserves  it 
in  this  connection,  and  also  because  we  are  writing 
under  the  sub-title  of  "a  neglected  classic ";  — and 
Propertius  is  one  of  the  most  neglected  of  the  writers  i,  "^ 

of  classic  Latin. 


34  CoPA :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

Sextus  Propertius  lived  in  Rome,  B.  C.  50-16.  He 
began  the  study  of  law,  but  gave  it  up  for  literature. 
He  had  a  moderate  fortune  and  passed  a  rather  idle 
and  uneventful  life,  mingling  in  the  exclusive 
literary  circle  of  his  time.  He  was  a  friend  of  Virgil 
and  of  Ovid ;  but  was  not  liked  by  Horace.  He  was 
well  spoken  of  by  his  contemporaries  and  gained  so 
high  a  position  in  the  poetic  ranks  that  he  was  con- 
fident of  his  own  immortality.  But  his  poetry  dis- 
appeared from  literature  for  fourteen  hundred  years. 
He  was  not  known  to  the  learned  of  mediaeval 
times.  In  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  a 
manuscript  copy  of  his  writings  was  found  beneath 
a  cask  in  the  cellar  of  a  wine-shop  in  Naples.  (J. 
Pontanus,  quoted  by  Broeckhuizen.)  His  work  soon 
attracted  the  attention  of  critics  and  it  became  one 
of  the  acknowledged  classics  of  the  Augustan  period. 
In  late  years  Propertius  has  gained  steadily  in  esteem 
and  appreciation.  Few  higher  encomiums  of  a  poet 
have  been  given  than  those  of  this  author  by  Sellar, 
/'  Duff,  Postgate,  Mackail  and  Crutwell.^ 

^  Propertius  has  within  the  present  generation  emerged  from 
comparative  neglect  to  the  place  of  chief  favorite  among  the 
elegiac  poets.    —  Sellar,  Roman  Poets. 

For  poetic  gifts  of  the  highest  order  none  of  the  elegists  could 
rival  him.     —  Duff,  Literary  History  of  Rome. 

In  striking  contrast  to  Virgil,  Propertius  is  a  genius  of  great  and 
indeed  phenomenal  precocity.     —  Mackail,  Latin  Literature. 

He  was  by  far  the  greatest  master  of  pentameter  that  Rome 
■^y  ever  produced.     —  Crutwell,  History  of  Roman  Literature. 


CoPA :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn         35 

Propertius  is  not  more  difficult  in  Latin  than  other 
Augustan  poets.  His  themes,  however,  were  chiefly 
love  or  lament,  and  few  of  his  poems  have  for  the 
modem  reader  a  continuous  charm.  But  he  mas- 
tered the  elegiac  verse  and  wrote  it  with  a  "  richness 
of  coloring  and  sumptuousness  of  rhythm  "  surpass- 
ing any  that  had  been  done  in  Rome.  His  first  book, 
Cynthia  Monobiblos,  created  a  sensation,  and  gave 
him  a  place  at  once  in  the  circle  of  Maecenas. 

Propertius  possessed  in  a  high  degree  what  his 
contemporaries  called  blanditia,  meaning  thereby  a 
certain  charm,  a  gift  of  intensive  and  melodious 
expression  which  touches  the  feelings  and  stirs  the 
imagination.  Modem  critics  agree  in  finding  in  his 
poetry  this  quality  and  are  fond  of  quoting  certain 
couplets  and  stanzas  which  have  a  remarkable 
beauty  due  in  part  to  this  peculiar  charm  as  well  as 
to  his  eloquence, /flcww^ifl,  and  his  mastery  of  versi- 
fication. Illustrations  taken  from  their  context  are 
apt  to  seem  cold ;  but  we  cite  a  few  lines  from  Post- 
gate  and  Duff,  some  of  whose  translations  we  have 
used. 

[  The  lover  is  waiting  the  call  of  his  mistress.  ] 
Me  mediae  noctes,  me  sidera  prona  jacentem, 
Frigidaque  Eoo  me  dolet  aura  gelu. 

El.  1 16 

The  midnights,  the  setting  stars,  and  the  chill 


36  CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

breeze  of  the  cold  dawn  all  pity  me  as  I  lie  waiting 
thee. 

[  He  gives  a  warning  to  Cynthia.] 
Sunt  apud  infernos  tot  milia  formosarum. 

El.  II  28 

There  be  in  hell  a  thousand  ladies  fair. 

[  Age  does  not  change  his  love.] 
Putris  et  in  vacua  requiescit  navis  harena 
Et  vetus  in  templo  bellica  parma  vacat 
At  me  ab  amore  diducet  nulla  senectus. 

EL  III  20 

The  rotten  ship  rests  on  the  desert  shore,  and  the 
battered  warshield  hangs  at  ease  on  the  temple; 
but  from  thy  love  no  age  shall  part  me. 

[  The  dead  Cynthia  visiting  Propertius  in  a  dream 
reproaches  him  for  not  having  attended  her  funeral.] 
Denique  quis  curvum  nostro  te  funere  vidit  ? 
Atram  quis  lacrimis  incaluisse  togam  ? 

El.V  7 

Who  saw  you  bowed  with  grief  at  my  funeral, 
Making  thy  black  toga  hot  with  tears  ? 

[  Cornelia,  a  Roman  matron,  returns  as  a  ghost  to 
her  husband.  She  explains  the  quality  of  her 
ghostness :  ] 

En  sum,  quod  digitis  quinque  levatur,  onus ! 

E1.V  11 

I  am  but  a  weight  that  may  be  lifted  by  five 
fingers ! 


CoPA :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn         37 

Propertius  had  a  precocious  genius  and  we  are  told 
that  at  the  age  of  twenty  he  had  done  work  compara- 
ble to  that  of  Keats'  and  Shelley's  youth.  If  he  had 
not  been  precocious,  however,  he  would  have  done 
little,  for  he  was  a  man  of  delicate  constitution,  and 
he  seemed  to  have  long  had  an  apprehension  of  his 
early  death.  This  is  shown  by  frequent  references 
to  the  subject. 

Una  ratis  fati  nostros  portabit  amores 
Caerula  ad  infernos  velificata  lacus. 

El.  II  28 
Our  loves  must  fare  in  one  Doom's  caravel, 
Dark  blue,  with  sails  set  for  the  meres  of  hell. 


Dum  nos  fata  sinunt,  oculos  satiemus  amore 
Nox  tibi  longa  venit  nee  reditura  dies. 

El.  II  15 

Feast  we  our  eyes  on  love  while  fate  saith  yea, 
The  long  night  comes  with  daybreak  gone  for  aye; 
Thou  must  not,  while  'tis  light,  life's  fruit  eschew, 
Give  all  thy  kisses,  they  will  still  be  few. 


Copa  ends  with  a  reference  to  death  and  in  this      ^''^-^  -^-c- 
respect  is  distinctly  Propertian.  "     ' ""*• 

Goethe  read  the  Elegies  of  Propertius  and  was 
stirred  to  write  something  of  the  same  kind.  Per- 
haps Milton  had  read  the  Elegy  on  Paetus  before  he 


38  CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

wrote  Lycidas,  for  the  theme  is  the  same  in  each. 
Propertius  laments  the  death  of  a  young  friend  who 
was  lost  at  sea;  and  this  is  Milton's  theme  also. 
Propertius  invokes  the  Nymphs  and  asks  why  they 
did  not  save  his  friend ;  and  Milton  does  the  same. 
Propertius  protests  against  the  quest  of  riches ;  Mil- 
ton sings  of  the  vanity  of  ambition.  Both  poems  are 
rich  in  mythology.  Both  dwell  upon  the  loss  of  the 
body  of  their  friend  and  its  entombment  in  the  seas. 

Milton  refers  to  the  bones  of  Lycidas : 
Ay  me!   Whilst  thee  the  shores,  and  sounding 

seas 
Wash  far  away,  where'er  thy  bones  are  hurled. 

And  Propertius : 

Sed  tua  nunc  volucres  astant  super  ossa  marinae, 
Nunc  tibi  pro  tumulo  Carpathium  omne  marest." 

Now  the  sea  birds  perch  above  thy  bones ; 
Thou  hast  the  whole  CaiiDathian  sea  for  a  tomb. 

Milton  refers  to  the   unseaworthy  ship  which 
caused  the  loss  of  Lycidas : 
It  was  that  fatal  and  perfidious  bark, 
Built  in  the  Eclipse,  and  rigg'd  with  curses  dark. 
That  sunk  so  low  that  sacred  head  of  thine. 

Propertius,  too,  curses  the  ships  which  were  his 
friend's  undoing : 
Rates  curvas  et  leti .  .  .  causas : 


CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn         39 

Milton  invokes  the  Nymphs  and  asks  why  they  did 
not  save  Lycidas : 
Where  were  ye,  Nymphs,  when  the  remorseless 

deep 
Closed  o'er  the  head  of  your  loved  Lycidas  ? 

And  Propertius : 
0  centum  aequoreae  Nereo  genitori  puellae,  etc. 

O  hundred  daughters  of  father  Nereus, 

And  you  Thetis  who  hast  suffered  a  mother's 

grief, 
You  should  have  placed  your  arms  beneath  his 

tired  chin. 

Milton  asks  that  Lycidas'  body  be  cared  for: 
Look  homeward  Angel  now,  and  melt  with  ruth. 
And,  O  ye  dolphins,  waft  the  hapless  youth. 

And  Propertius : 

Redditi  corpus  humo  .  .  . 

Paetum  sponte  tua,  vilis  arena,  tegas. 

Restore,  ye  waves,  his  body  to  the  earth. 
And  cover  Paetus,  ye  shifting  sands,  of  your  own 
will. 

The  poem  by  Propertius  is  more  direct  and  human 
than  a  pastoral  like  that  of  Milton's  could  possibly 
be,  and  the  note  of  pathos  in  it  is  more  convincing. 


40         CoPA :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 


Elegy  IV.  6 

On  the  Death  of  Paetus  Who  was  Drowned 
at  Sea 

Thou  art,  0  Money !  the  cause  of  anxious  lives ; 
thro*  thee  we  tread  the  path  of  death  before  our  time. 

Thou  feedest  with  cruel  food  the  weaknesses  of 

man;^ 
and  the  seeds  of  Care  spring  from  thy  head.    Thou 

hast 
led  Paetus  to  stretch  his  sails  towards  Pharos.  Thou 
hast  wrecked  him,  thrice  and  four  times,  in  the 

frenzied  waters. 

While  following  thee,  he,  unhappy  one, 
dies  in  his  prime  and  tosses  on  the  waves, 
a  fresh  banquet  for  the  fish  of  distant  seas ; 
his  mother  can  not  place  him  with  due  rites 
in  the  kindly  earth,  nor  bury  him  among  his  kin. 

The  sea  birds,  Paetus,  now  perch  above  thy  bones ; 
thou  hast  for  a  tomb  the  whole  Carpathian  sea.^ 

Why  tell  how  few  thy  years,  my  Paetus !  or  how, 
when  tossing  on  the  waves  the  name 
of  thy  dear  mother  was  upon  thy  lips ! 

1  Tuo  vitiis  hominum  crudelia  pabula  praebes. 

2  Nunc  tibi  pro  tumulo  Carpathium  omne  mare  est. 


CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn         41 

The  billows  have  no  gods ;  ^  for  all  the  ropes 
which  held  thee  to  the  rocks  gave  way  before  the 
storms  of  night. 


Go,  build  curved  ships,  causes  of  many  deaths,— 
of  deaths  prepared  by  human  hands.    The  earth 
was  far  too  little  for  the  Fates ;  -  and  to  it 
we  have  added  the  great  sea  and  by  our  art 
have  made  broader  the  unhappy  ways  of  Fortune. 


Never  do  the  ships  grow  old ;  and  even  the  harbor 
breaks  its  faith.  ^ 


If  Paetus  had  but  been  content  to  plough  his 
father's  fields ;  if  he  had  given  weight  to  friendly 

words, 
he  would  be  living  now,  a  pleasant  guest 
before  his  own  Penates,  poor,  but  safe 
on  land  where  winds  blow  little  harm.    Here  Paetus 
had  not  to  hear  the  thunder  of  the  storm, 
nor  tear  his  tender  hands  with  cruel  ropes ; 
but  he  could  lie  within  his  chamber  of  cedar 
or  Orician  ash,  his  head  resting 
on  the  many-colored  pillows. 

1  Non  unda  habet  deos. 
'•'  Terra  parum  fuerat  fatis, 
adjecimus  undas 

^  baud  ulla  carina 
Consenuit,  fallit  portus  et  ipse  fidem. 


42  CoPA :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 

While  he  fought  for  Hfe,  the  waves  tore  off 
his  nails  and  he  swallowed  the  hateful  water. 
The  merciless  night  saw  him  clinging  to  the 
little  plank  :— 
So  many  evils  united  that  Paetus  might  die. 


Yet,  in  this  sad  extremity,  weeping  he  spoke 

these  words : 

"  Ye  Gods !  who  rule  the  waters  of  the  Aegean  sea, 

Ye  Winds !  and  whatever  wave  is  pressing  down  my 

head, 

whither  do  you  take  the  tender  years 

of  my  unhappy  youth  ? 


I  have  brought  to  your  straits  only  innocent  hands. 

The  god  of  the  blue  sea  has  set  his  trident 

against  me, 

and  I,  wretched,  shall  be  dashed  upon  the  sharp 

rocks  of  Alcyon : 

But  I  pray  the  tempest  may  blow  me  upon  the  coast 

of  Italy ;  it  will  be  enough,  if  I  may  but  get 

to  my  mother's  care."  ^ 


The  wave  caught  him,  speaking  thus,  and  drew  him 
down  in  its  writhing  vortex. 
These  were  the  last  words  and  this  the  last 
day  of  Paetus. 

1  Hoc  de  me  satis  erit  si  modo  matris  est. 


CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn         43 

0,  ye  hundred  Daughters  of  father  Nereus, 

and  thou,  Thetis,  who  hast  also  known 

a  mother's  grief, 

you  should  have  placed  your  arms  beneath  his  tired 

chin; 
he  could  not  have  weighed  down  your  hands. 


Restore,  ye  waves,  his  body  to  the  earth,— 

his  life  is  flown.    And  cover  him  of  your  own 

accord,  0  shifting  sands ! 

And  when  the  sailor  passes  his  tomb, 

let  him  say :   "Thou  canst  be  a  warning 

even  to  the  bold". 

But,  thou,  cruel  north  wind,  shalt  never  see  my 
sails.    I  will  be  buried  after  a  peaceful  life 
before  the  door  of  my  home. 


Whether  Cynthia  or  Propertius  wrote  Copa,  or 
both  or  neither,  we  pay  our  tribute  to  Keppler  for 
awakening  interest  in  a  neglected  classic  and  for 
drawing  attention  also  to  the  literary  work  of  an 
Augustan  writer  most  likely  to  have  been  concerned 
in  its  production.  For  Propertius  not  only  copied 
the  Greek  poetic  measure,  but  also  tamed  and  broke  >V—  - 
for  his  special  and  high  artistic  use  a  very  wonderful 
language  previously  used  for  war  and  business  only. 
The  result  was  fruitful  and  interesting;  for  though 


C-«=fc^W,' 


44 


CoPA  :  The  Hostess  of  the  Inn 


Latin  poetry  does  not  represent  the  muse  in  her 
highest  flights,  it  is  unique  among  Uteratures  in 
forcefulness,  and,  to  moderns,  in  the  curious  charm 
and  cryptic  beauty  of  its  dislocated  constructions. 


The  Hostess  of  an  Inn  (  Copa ) 
From  an  old  Sepulchral  Relief 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


|EBl6«^ 


Form  L9-100m-9,'52(A3105)444 


-s^ 


"/ergiliuD  K'aro  - 


6955     Copa:   the  host- 
XT ess  of  the  inn 


1909 


PA 
6935 
C7 
1909 


III  III 


Ml, 


L  007  596  285  2 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITr' 


AA    000  418  477    6 


